To Be A Kage
by Jhidro
Summary: Naruto travels back in time to prevent the pretext of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Armed with his knowledge of future events, Senjutsu and Fuuinjutsu, along with some new friends made early on, would he be able to stop it? Kage Level Naruto later, Naruto/Ino/Hinata pairing. Multiple pairings pending.
1. Chapter 1

"The Fourth Great Shinobi War: slaughter justified by Obito and Madara Uchiha in hopes of obtaining the last remaining bijuu; Killer B, the Hachibi, and Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi. With so much death raining upon the landscape, the latter felt an enormous responsibility. Naruto split his chakra to protect those still alive, as pockets of red glow could be spotted across the battlefield. However, even this couldn't protect him from the wounds forming in his mind.

It was great to have the comradery during the final battle, but as it dragged on, more people have died. Precious people who Naruto felt close to. First was Neji, killed by white Zetsu, then was Tenten. Lee managed to survive for quite awhile before his taijutsu was overwhelmed by the shear veracity of the opposition. Shikamaru fell, however not due to his lack-luster attitude. Through a show of leadership of not sending his soldiers to die needlessly, the Nara held off a strong offensive so that many may flee. I suppose when the going got tough, he really got going.

As the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast at Kaguya's return, so came the ascension of Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage left Naruto with Yin-Yang chakra; Yin to create form, and Yang to give life. Even if he could save those who had died, it would not get rid of the trauma they endured. It would be best to avoid such suffering all together. With that being said, Naruto focused his chakra amassed by the bijuu, mixing it the nature's chakra and his spiritual chakra. Forming a circle with his arms in front of his chest, he began to pull apart what seemed to be space-time itself and yelled

"Hidden Sage Art: Genesis!"

For a moment, Naruto had entered a vast emptiness, a void pitch black, before opening his eyes to light shining through his window. He noticed he was smaller when he sat up. Still in disbelief and weary from chakra use, he laid back down and went into his mindscape.

"Hey Kurama… you there?"

" Yeah…" the fox replied just as tired.

"I… I think we're back in the past…"" I can barely tell if I have a face, kit. I'm so beat" Kurama retorted with his eyes closed.

Naruto exited his mindscape. Tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. Now realizing as he was in no immediate danger, all he could do was cry. Cry from grief of losing his friends, of experiences that only he could remember with people he doesn't even know yet. The regret of his dubious confidence, not even sure if he is in the same timeline as he left everyone there. Even so, there was a cry of joy from the blonde, being given a chance to prevent it from happening.

The next morning, Naruto walked up to the Hokage monument overlooking Konoha and sat on Yodaime's head. Kurama was still a bit tired, but should recover soon. Now at the age of six, Naruto felt it right to focus early on senjutsu. Granted he would have to meditate until his body becomes strong enough to maintain nature's chakra or else he'd be turned to stone. "Tou-san, Kaa-chan. This time it'll be different." He vowed.

After about half an hour of meditating, Naruto began to run the perimeter of Konoha. Villagers typically gave him scrowls of disapproval, but it was so early that civilians were seldom in the streets. He ran in peace with the cool morning breeze hitting his face, appreciating the streets that were destroyed during the war.

Naruto repeated the routine for about two months until he ran into somebody on one of his morning runs. He turned the corner and bumped into them and falling but ended up rolling off his back and recovering effortlessly. "Sorry about that" he said unconsciously with a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his head. It wasn't until he looked up and saw who he ran into that he became a little more hesitant. The young blonde found himself looking at an older blonde with his hair in a ponytail, Inoichi Yamanaka _'If my memory serves me right, he should still be in the TI Division at this time'_ Naruto thought. "Excuse me, Yamanaka-san!" Naruto said with a slight bow before fleeing the scene to avoid being questioned any further. _"Crap, I know I'm going to get a visit from Ji-san later"._

At the academy, the Yamanaka head entered the Hokage's office. "Inoichi, what brings you in today?" asked the aging Sarutobi smoking his tobacco. "It's concerning Naruto Uzumaki" Inoichi responded. Hurizen's face grew serious. Anything concerning Naruto was a touchy subject for him, as the kid has become somewhat of a surrogate grandchild for him, forming a bond that he would not humor being threatened.

The Professor, put down the tobacco pipe gesturing for Inoichi to continue. "I ran into him, literally to be exact…" "And…?" Hurizen asked lifting an eyebrow in intrigue. "He fell, but rolled off his back like he was trained, and his shirt was filled with sweat. However, that didn't catch my eye as the next two things I realized." Hurizen tensed subtley in preparation "… he knew who I was and I never heard him coming." Light footsteps and signs of training, like a shinobi. Sarutobi picked up his pipe again "I think I should visit the boy" he said taking a long drag of his pipe.

Later that evening, a knock came from the door of Naruto's apartment. The blonde opened the door to find the Hokage standing in wait. 'I knew he was coming, but…' Ever since he returned to this time, he hasn't visited his foster grandfather once. "Jiji!" he yelled hugging the old man. He barely manage to hold back a more mature 'Ji-san' which wouldn't sound like a six year old. Hurizen let out a heartwarming chuckle at the embrace "Woah there, Naruto" he looked at the boy before speaking softly "may I come in?" he asked, respecting the boy's privacy. Naruto nodded enthusiastically glad to see the Third Hokage again. Naruto offered him ramen, but he refused. "I heard you have been training recently, I wondered what for." Naruto knew the thick-laced question could have many questions after if he didn't answer it correctly, Sarutobi wasn't called 'the Professor' if he didn't study. "I'm going to be the best Hokage there is, Dattebayo!" Naruto said with a wide grin and a thumbs up._ "Kami this is embarrassing'_ he thought.

Hurizen couldn't help but smile. "Well that's a lofty goal, why did you make this decision?" _'Oh to avoid the shit-show that is the Fourth Shinobi War'_ he thought. "I want to protect those people precious to me, Jiji, and those people precious to them…" he said nervously. "I sometimes see that people don't like me, but I don't hate them for it. Konoha is a big family, and like any family there is one or two dysfunctions. I want to protect this family." He said in a half-baked truth. Hurizen was surprised by the answer, as he as well considered the village his family, more so because Naruto was an orphan. The old man decided not to pursue it any further. "Well Naruto, from one Hokage to a future one, rest well, whenever you can" he said putting his hand Naruto's well-toned shoulder. Naruto reflected on what the Hokage said, understood since he hasn't stopped training for the past several months. A part of him felt horrible for resting, another knew he would eventually be working on half-capacity. "Hai, Ji-san." He said confidently. Hurizen knew that a child shouldn't have went through the emotions that showed on Naruto's face. '_I wonder if he's made contact with the Kyuubi'_ he thought.

Inoichi followed up with the Hokage the next morning. "He's definitely hiding something, but I don't sense any anger or malice coming from him" Hurizen briefed "if anything, there were hints of sorrow." 'Sorrow…?' Inoichi thought. "Inoichi, I know your job at interrogations could be a handful sometimes, but can you check on Naruto from time to time, just to make sure he isn't dabbling in anything dangerous. The dirty blonde didn't have to be told twice, partly because his personality wants to get to the bottom of things, partly because the jinchurikki getting out could cause trouble.

At his leisure, the Yamanaka head could be seen shadowing the young boy. _'Meditates at sunrise, starts running right after…_' he noted. Naruto, who has been gradually increasing his senjutsu, noticed that someone was watching him, but still couldn't tell who. Before he would go to Training Ground 44, he would lose his tail first, surprising Inoichi that the kid could be so evasive.

A week later, he noticed Naruto walking through the village when the older blonde got off of work. His tailing commenced as he hid behind walls and on top of buildings. Inoichi noted the reactions Naruto was getting from some of the villagers. _'How could they treat a kid this way. Demon or not, he's a child who isn't even aware.'_ Inoichi lost sight of Naruto when he entered a shop. More specifically, his shop: the Yamanaka Flower shop.

Before entering, Inoichi could hear the interaction between his wife and the kid. "Yamanaka-obasan, can I get these please?" Naruto asked holding up a yellow rose and a daffodil. Inoichi's wife was hesitant until a young Ino came running in the shop from the attached house, to which the instinctive reaction was hostile.

"Hey, Momma, who's this?" Ino asked pointing at the blonde.

Before his wife could respond negatively, Inoichi walked into the flower shop feigning surprise "Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" His wife noticed the affectionate honorific coming from the patriarch and decided to relax. He took noticed of the flowers in the boy's hand _'Friendships and new beginnings, huh?'_ he thought. Who are those for? Inoichi asked kindly. Naruto got nervous. He was just going to place them on the memorial, but he couldn't tell them that. Flustered, he looked at the young Ino and offered the flowers to her "I-Ino-chan, please be my friend!" He blurted out while thinking 'Kami kill me now.'

"The two older Yamanaka's were surprised as if they'd turned to stone. _'The Demon child asked my little girl to be friends with him?! I'm not… I don't know what to think…'_ her mother thought. _"This kid, this brat just asked my baby Ino to be his friend and gave her flowers, before you know it they're going to be eloping together and...'_ "Okay!" the father's thoughts were cut off by Ino accepting the invitation. "Eh?!" said Naruto, Inoichi and his wife in unison.


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note**: Thank you for taking time to read this fanfic, I mainly did it to take my thoughts and put it on paper while hopefully being able to share the experience. I'm apologize for taking so long to post another chapter, as I've been balancing three jobs. Luckily, I'm able to get a couple of paragraphs in whenever I get my morning coffee. If you like the premise, feel free to adopt and alter it. You know what they say, "If you want to read a story that hasn't yet been written, then you must be the one to write it. Without further ado, I present to you:

Chapter 2

'_Often times, one's arrogance can be their downfall. The ancients termed it as "Hubris" and "Ego". Despite traveling back in time, and being entrusted with the chakra of the legendary Sage of Six Paths I never foresaw the the predicament I'm currently in_.'

"Naru-chan, go faster!" A seven-year old Ino could be heard yelling in the distance of Naruto's monologue as she was being carried on his back. She wanted to train with Naruto, but on the first lap around Konoha had tripped and had twisted her ankle. Ino had the brilliant idea for Naruto to carry her to intensify his training.

"I'm a Toad Sage... the Kyuubi Jinchurikki...the vanguard of the Great Shinobi Alliance..." Naruto began mumbling to himself. "I planned to be the greatest ninja this world has ever seen. Yet here I am... babysitting..."

"I'm not a baby!" Ino could still be angrily heard in the background of his mind. '_Still, it might be good to train her some. Inoichi sure is taking his time._'

"Naru-chan, I'm hungry" Ino whined. It was just about time for breakfast. Naruto dropped her off at the young Yamanaka's house, bracing himself for the scolding he would receive later from her mother. At least this time there would be a reason besides being a demon child. He headed back to his apartment to eat before continuing his training.

With the Yamanakas, a small discussion has gathered around the table as they ate breakfast. "So you went training with Naruto this morning?" Inoichi asked biting into his omelette. Ino nodded and smiled "Naru-chan did several laps around the village." '_While carrying her on his back, how strong is this kid_' Inoichi wondered. "Daddy...?" Ino asked getting the older blonde's attention as he took another bite of his food "What's a Jinchurikki?" Inoichi seemed to spit out his food and a plate falling to the floor and breaking could be heard from the kitchen. "W-where did you hear that sweetie?" Inoichi stuttered, recomposing himself. "Naru-chan said something about how he is one." The older blondes face got serious '_so he knows,huh? I'm going to have to bring this up to Hokage-sama._' Ino was genuinely curious, if not concerned. '_I don't want to lie to my daughter about her friend, but..._' he let out a deep sigh. "I am not at liberty to say, sweetheart, but I will try to get to the bottom of it." "Thanks, Daddy!" Ino said hugging her father.

Before Inoichi went to the T.I. Division to begin his daily work routine, he stopped by the Hokage's office to give a sit-rep. "So Naruto-kun is aware of his misgivings" Hurizen stated prompting Inoichi to ask permission to officially tail him. "Inoichi, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Although it might lead to that. Has he been acting differently as of late?" The blonde shook his head "no different than he normally is, but to begin with he never really acted normal. He's too sharp for his age." Hurizen wondered if he inherited some genius from his father, but even Minato wasn't as informed and as self-assured as his successor at this age. '_Luckily seeing him through the crystal ball has given me a better understanding of that facade he is putting on_.' The old Sarutobi put down his pipe before grabbing Inoichi's attention. "Bring him in after you stop by T.I. And let them know you won't be available today." Inoichi nodded in agreement, "Hai, Hokage-sama." Hurizen has an uneasy feeling and needed to know exactly how much the boy knows.

Around noon, Naruto could be found stuffing his face with ramen from Ichiraku's. Halfway through his fifth bowl, he stopped and wondered what's going to happen to the Uchiha clan. _'I don't think I'm ready to face Itachi in this small body without giving out a ton of information_' he deadpanned. Visibly frustrated, Ayame asked if something is wrong. "It's nothing Ayame-nee-chan!" He said while laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "Well keep up the good work, you look sturdier already" she commented to a wary smile. After avoiding the explanation, he continued his train of thought. '_Hmm maybe I can show them where Anbu 'ne' (Root) is located... nah, I can't guarantee Jiji will do something serious about Danzo, and I'm way too early to be facing him alone..._' he slurped the broth from the bowl and continued onto the next. '_Wait a minute, if I stop Danzo, then the Uchiha's coup will continue as planned, and that'll host a ton of other problems._'

Inoichi walked into the ramen stand and sat next to Naruto. '"Naruto-kun..." he said while trying to slip in a bowl of ramen before heading back to the Academy. _'... I mean, I might be able to take on Fugaku and Mikoto myself and saving Itachi the and Sasuke-teme the pain, but they're both Joun—..._' "Naruto-KUN" Inoichi said a bit louder, startling the young blonde. "Y-Yamanaka-san?" He responded with the older blonde letting out a chuckle. "How's it going? I heard Ino went to train with you this morning." "Yeah, if you call falling right at the gate training" Naruto mumbled to himself to the ire of the older blonde who paused midway through slurping noodles. "I thought as a clan member she would have been trained more by now" Naruto nodded. The comment irritated Inoichi, but the kid had a point. "It's been difficult for me to find time nowadays. Maybe once I retire" he mentioned. "I can train her or bring her up to speed at least" the young Uzumaki offered. "And what type of speed does a seven-year old have" Inoichi grinned mischievously rubbing Naruto's head. "Ma, I lose you all the time when you're tailing me, that kind of speed" Naruto let slip, pausing in caution after realizing what he just said. '_So he knows it's me. Granted, this kids an oddball, but if it'll help Ino..._' "I'd appreciate it, she can be a handful at times" he said with a jovial smile before getting serious as his head bubbled and it got eerily closer to Naruto's "...but I swear to Kami if you do anything indecent to my daughter..." "N-not a chance" Naruto tried fighting back the glare while Ayame and Teuchi laughed in the background. Inoichi then mentioned for Naruto to meet at the Hokage's office when he's done prior to finishing his bowl and leaving.

Naruto entered the Hokage's office nonchalantly "Hey Jiji!" He exclaimed to the to the smile of the old Sarutobi. '_I wonder where's this is going to go. I might have to pretend I don't know stuff, but Inoichi seems to already be on to me. I mean, he trusts a seven-year old to another seven year old. Who does that?!_' "Naruto, I know you have been training for a little over a year now, how do you feel? Where would you rank yourself if given the opportunity to be a shinobi?" The seven-year old took a considerate, concentrated look that the Hokage caught. "I—" he hesitated "I think I'm just at a Genin level, considering my chakra control and physical strength" he admitted modestly. That doesn't include technique or knowledge, which Naruto wants to avoid explaining. His chakra control isn't the best, but that's because he has a large reserve, and his physical strength is no match without chakra enhancement.

The Hokage nodded his head. "Just at a Genin, you say" He observed. Any child your age would be ecstatic to consider themself such or hesitate outright until told otherwise. However, it seems you see yourself above that." Naruto choked up '_so much for the 'fake it til you make plan._'' "Naruto-kun, it's come to my attention that you know something about your... situation as an orphan. Can I ask how you found out about it?" '_That's pretty vague_' Naruto thought '_he could be phishing for information_.' "Hokage Ji-san.." he started politely "Can I ask that you put up the privacy seals and remove the Anbu from the room?" Both Inoichi and Hurizen were colored surprised. It may have given them a hint of his capabilities with the large amount of knowledge of the politics of Konoha and its shinobi, but he'd rather showed that he's formidable through academics rather than technique.

Even more curious the professor did just that, doing otherwise might shut his surrogate grandson off from him. He gave a reassuring nod to Naruto. "What exactly do you want to know?" Naruto stated hoping to give as little to them as possible. A bit uneasy that he isn't able to get Naruto to spill everything, Hurizen decided to ask directly. "Do you know of the Kyuubi?" He asked, also trying to prevent letting out too much information. "The nine-tailed fox that attacked the village seven years ago on my birthday. His name is Kurama and he is a good friend of mine." "That thing has a name?!" Inoichi let out unable to hold his tongue. Despite expecting that reaction, Naruto still winced a little from a phantom pain. Inoichi noticed and corrected himself "I'm sorry, Naruto. Please continue." Naruto did so after a slight pause "In his defense, he says he was placed under a powerful Genjutsu by a sharigan user..." Hurizen's brow perked up at this revelation. "... he says normally, he would consider humans below him and tried to avoid them whenever possible to not 'waste' his time." Hurizen took out his tobacco and began to pack it into his pipe. '_Hmm that's similar to Hashirama's and Madara's fight, it's concerning. The Uchiha have been rather closed off from the public recently, and they weren't near the village during the attack._'

The Professor lit his pipe and took a drag. "Has... Kurama said anything about the man who sealed him or where he was before the attack" Saying he knows of who his parents are would put the Hokage into alert mode for Naruto's safety from his father's enemies. While he doesn't see Naruto as normal, he doesn't appear to be Jounin level yet. "I asked, he doesn't like talking about either. He said his creator, the Sage of Six Paths, didn't wish for him to be sealed and holds a grudge on those who did it." The two grown shinobi were once again shocked that the tailed beast was a link to the Legendary Sage.

Hurizen coughed "has Kurama influenced you in any way? Is he the reason you began training?" Naruto shook his head. "Kurama and I are a team, he seems as wise as his creator..."

"**Ah, kit, you're just too dumb to know common sense if it hit you in the face**" Kurama noted.

"Despite being a pain in the ass ball of fur." He paused as he insulted the red beast. Getting a chuckle from the two others in the room from the crude display of compradore "He told me that if I was strong enough, I may be able to become a Sage myself." Naruto finished, trying to fast track the process of meeting the toad sage. This prompted a ton of questions to pop into Hurizen's head '_Why was the Kyuubi created? Moreover, it's an intelligent life form. How is Naruto not influenced by it and does Jaraiya need to look at the seal? How advanced is Naruto?_' "This just reinforced my goal to be the strongest Hokage, Jiji" The blonde broke the Professor's concentration. Sarutobi smiled, remembering the enthusiastic child he confronted last year. "A sage is a pretty hopeful dream, especially if you consider yourself JUST a Genin, Naruto" he told him considerately. "Ma, I'm working on it" the Uzumaki retorted. "We'll wait on that discussion until you become an official shinobi and complete the academy" the Hokage said.

Naruto looked bummed, but Inoichi smiled in his place. '_It seems Naruto is more than capable of handling Ino_' he noted. Which reminded him "Naruto-Kun, why did you ask that the privacy seals be put up?" The young blonde considered his answer, since Anbu 'ne' isn't officially disbanded until after the Uchiha downfall. "I just want what I tell you to stay with you, and not with someone who considers himself better" he said cryptically. Hurizen understood the hint, but how could a child know of Danzo? "Moreover, Hokage-sama..." Inoichi began "the rules pertaining to the Jinchurikki situation..." The Hokage rubbed his beard "If Naruto wishes for his peers to know, then he may tell them without any repercussion." Inoichi let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Naruto who was confused and noted how his daughter brought up the topic at breakfast. "Sorry about that Yamanaka-san, I'll tell her eventually" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously.

Later that night, Naruto decided how he might stand a chance against Sasuke's parents. By taking what knowledge he had gained from Horagomo, Jaraiya, and Kurama about the cursed doujutsu and began making a seal to combat it. It will take some time, he'll only have one chance to perfect it, and he would still have to train to get his agility up to speed. '_I should start using gravity seals on my limbs_' he thought '_I'll start in a couple of days when I start training Ino-chan._' I smile plastered on his face when he realized how comforting it was to have friends and comrades as a kid instead of always being an outcast. '_Things will definitely be better_.'

Another year had passed since Naruto had started training Ino. While she learns quickly and is capable of absorbing any information thrown at her, her practical skills were lacking. Naruto saw that this wasn't because she was incapable, but that she was distracted by the feeling of chakra use. However, now that she was a bit more comfortable with her chakra, her control was equivalent to a fresh Genin.

However, they were only eight years old, and would be starting the Academy in a month. "Another several years before being a shinobi is even possible" Ino sighed as she walked through the village to class. Wherever she went, she was greeted with smiles from the villagers and shop owners. '_I wonder when Naruto will start teaching me jutsu_' Ino wondered, deciding to drop the childish name while Naruto was officially training her. _'I've been getting used to walking up trees and on water, but those aren't actual jutsus! I need something useful!_' She thought nodding to herself. '_Speaking of Naruto, where is he at? He always leaves the moment we're done with training.'_

She continued walking along the eastern side of the village before she noticed a young girl with purple hair peering over a wall like she was tailing someone. The young girl looked to the side to see Ino staring at her from a distance, so she decided to suspend her pursuit of the mystery target. '_Those white eyes, she must be a Hyuuga' _Ino noted. When she looked around the corner, she could see how the roads turned to grass and in the distance was a fenced off area that looked like a forest. Ino shrugged _'whatever, it's none of my business_'.

Meanwhile in the Forest of Death, Naruto was finishing up his Sharingan Seals. He tried to design one of the seals to be similar to a barrier jutsu that preys on the Sharingan's ability to see chakra. By overloading the seal with a sharp burst might blind them temporarily. The second is if he happens to get in close, he can seal the eyes abilities to utilize chakra. The second one took a lot of research about medical ninjutsu. While he doesn't have the chakra control required to be a medic nin, the knowledge about the human anatomy can be useful. He probably won't be able to be friends with Sasuke after this, but he can't just stand around after seeing the mess it caused afterwards. '_Tonight is the night we start changing the future._'

In the early morning around 2:00am, Naruto entered the Uchiha compound. He had henged to have black hair and black eyes with a mask on to cover his whiskers. '_Kurama can't take part in this unless the Sharingan seals work, but let's hope it doesn't come down to needing him._' Within the large compound, he only had two targets. He hid in shadows when he could as he approached the house of his former rival.

While he was still in the cover of darkness and as he began hearing the silenced screams of the other Uchiha in the distance, he sat down to meditate. Uchiha were sensitive to unique chakra, but no one would guess the chakra that exists in nature. Focusing on locating the people nearby, he sensed two downstairs and one upstairs, probably asleep. _'That must be Sasuke, he has to know it wasn't his brother that killed his parents. I'll be sure to make enough noise'_ he thought.

'_Once I get close enough and I'll plan to go loud_.'

Naruto hopped onto the awning to get access to the upstairs window where Sasuke could be seen sound asleep. Naruto didn't spend anytime staring at the young kid, he didn't need that type of serenity now, insanity later. He exited the room quietly and readied his seal. '_They're Jounin, they should already know I'm here. I have to stay on my toes_.' As he turned the corner to head downstairs, two Kunai flew from the first floor. Naruto dodged throwing his own before getting the wild instinct to duck. He did to find Fugaku's kunai in the wall. After a bout of taijutsu having Naruto's punches and roundhouse kick blocked, Fugaku kicked Naruto down the stairs to Mikoto, who readied to finish him off. Naruto cloned himself behind Mikoto, distracting her for a moment as he recovered, bouncing himself of the sidewall and into the center of the room. As the young clone fought the Jounin, lasting a little over five seconds before being dispatched. Fugaku was already downstairs. Both Uchiha were now in front of him with their Sharigan active.

Right as the clone popped, both looked toward Naruto who had the seal out on the floor. "Copy Wheel Barrier: Seal" A sharp burst of highly compressed Chakra released, shaking the walls of establishment, breaking the wood board around them. Naruto witnessed Fugaku and Mikoto's eyes were bleeding, an unexpected reaction. That sharp Chakra must have punctured and destroyed the Tenketsu located in the eyes. Fugaku let out a scream before Naruto has lunged his kunai through the Jounin's chest, killing him. Mikoto has tried to recover, but she couldn't see as her instincts blocked what attacks came in front of her, but she didn't feel the clone in back of her that had stabbed her in the kidney.

As Mikoto fell a cry came from the top of the stairs, "Mommy!" Sasuke yelled. Naruto jumped back as the young Uchiha tried to protect his mom, who was slowly bleeding out. Naruto disregarded the boy, resealing the chakra barrier. He looked at Sasuke with his guard up, trying not to feel any attachment to the scene before him before shushining away.

When Naruto left Mikoto called to her son "Sasuke..." she paused trying to catch her breath "I'm sorry… Please never stop being the caring child that I love..." she pleaded putting her hand on his face. Sasuke couldn't hold back the tears of loss. Itachi finally arrived to a scene he wasn't expecting. His father impaled and his mother in a puddle of blood. He walked up behind Sasuke to see his mother clinging to whatever time she can get. "Itachi... please keep Sasuke safe..." she finished as her breath faded away. "Brother!" Sasuke yelled hugging Itachi. Itachi on the other hand didn't react. He prepared for his parents to die by his hand, and for Sasuke to hate him. "Why did they have to die, brother" Sasuke muffled scream could be heard from Itachi's abdomen. Itachi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder pushing him away "Be stronger, little brother." Pausing to look at his dead parents "Be better, Sasuke." Itachi turned to leave "one day you'll understand" we're the last words he left with young Uchiha Heir before disappearing into the night. Sasuke felt a deep dread when crying that his Sharigan flickered before he passed out from the emotional exhaustion.

Itachi gave his debrief to the Hokage in an undisclosed location, heavily forested. "So a man claiming to be Madara Uchiha participated in this mission" the third wrinkled his brow. "Hai, Hokage-sama" Itachi kneeled. After a moment of thought, Hurizen turned to the Uchiha prodigy. "You are stripped of your title as Anbu Captain and banished from this village" Hurizen said staring at Itachi for any emotional reaction, which he succeeded in not emitting. "Your goal with the reputation you will have is now to infiltrate "Madara's" group, Akatsuki." Before Itachi accepted he stood up "can I ask for you to take care of Sasuke?" He asked. Hurizen smiled "It's the least I can do for the sacrifice you'll have to endure." Itachi gave a slight bow before leaving the village.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The morning after the crimson night, Inoichi and the Investigative team were in the now desolate Uchiha Compound. Sasuke has temporarily put under protective custody with the Anbu. Inoichi entered the Uchiha Heir's house and noticed the blood running from Fugaku and Mikoto's eyes. "What happened here?" He asked the med team assisting in the investigation. "The tenketsu in their eyes has been punctured..." the M.E. noted. '_Tenketsu, could it be a Hyuuga_?' Inoichi asked himself before the M.E. Continued "... there has also been chakra damage to the outside of their skin with some lacerations and burns that cover their whole body. Initial observation looks like they were facing a chakra-filled explosive with the Tenketsu damage as a side effect. I won't know more until I do an autopsy." '_They left the eyes intact of these two, and stabbed the eyes of all the others in the compound. Just what were they after?_' He wondered.

Inoichi looked around the rest of the room. '_Most of the damage to the structure happened in the center of it, suggesting this is where such an explosion will go off._' He noted standing over where Naruto unsealed the chakra. He looked up the stairs and saw the kunai stuck in the wall. '_They came in from upstairs. For what little Sasuke said, he noted he was sleeping in the northern most bedroom_'. The blonde investigator saw the door ajar and across he saw the window open. '_They passed right over Sasuke and targeted the parents. Why_?' Inoichi's questions only doubled as the rest of the clan was massacred, but only Sasuke survived. A messenger bird found its way to Inoichi summoning him to the Hokage's office.

When he got there, The Saindaime was anticipating the blonde's arrival. He as well as the other Jounin present were expecting an answer for the current fall of the Uchiha clan. "Yamanaka Inoichi, welcome..." he started "we have the name of the perpetrator of last night's massacre. '_How can that be_?' Inoichi thought _'...we just started the investigation_.' The Hokage let out a dreadful sigh "Our very own Itachi Uchiha has went rogue and has joined a criminal organization known as Akatsuki" He concluded. "We are to be wary of any movements involving the syndicate. We are still unaware of what their goal is."

Inoichi considered that Itachi went rogue as some of the murders matched the Anbu Captain's style, but there were two other styles not fitting the same M.O.. Moreover, one thing that was the same was that the Sharingan was sabotaged. Outside of Fugaku and Mikoto, where blood loss was seen from the eyes, there wasn't blood the other bodies he seen. This suggests that someone did this post-mortem after battle, or another party went out of their way to hide the clan secrets.

"Achoo!" Naruto sneezed while he walked through the village. As he was still trying to cope with what he did the night before. Good intentions or not, he killed his friend/rival's parents. One day he will have to tell Sasuke. "Just take it day by day" he sighed. At least he won't have to worry about Danzo becoming too powerful for the time being. '_Didn't he have Izanagi_?' He wondered while ignoring the scorn of the villagers. '_Why didn't Fugaku use it? Can he not use it because of the seal?_'

Naruto understood one thing, that he needed to really hammer away at his fuuinjutsu studies. '_Baa-chan also told me about all the other information the Hokage needs to be aware of: politics, councils, administrations and institutions that influence the people..._' His head cracked _'... and just because it's Baa-chan, she insisted I have some medical knowledge. Still, I don't think the library would take kindly to the Jinchurikki walking out with a book of how to make and disassemble seals._' Naruto rubbed his spiked hair in frustration before letting out a sigh. '_Looks like I'm going to have to visit the Uzumaki Clan compound when I have a chance. I'm not going to leave my future to advice of the Legendary Sucker._'

"Haachu!" a busty blonde gambler let out a sneeze prior to losing all her money on the eastern edges of Hi no Kuni.

As the month passed, Naruto continued his training with Ino in the morning and ninjutsu training alone until the afternoon. It was now time to start the academy, and both were already pumped to move on up in the world. While Ino was studious, Naruto groaned as he hated academia. '_I learned everything through experience. Ma, I can't doubt that I could be a lot better if I just paid attention._' The naturally kinetic ball of energy tried to sit still, but it was like compressing a tailed-beast ball. After the lecture, steam flew out his ears as he recalled everything the teacher said. '_This is really the basic among basics. Geography, Shinobi Terminology, Ranks, etc_.' Feeling like he held his breathe for nothing, after classes he decided to get in the habit of studying in the library.

It was nice seeing some of the young versions of his friends. Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji were all in his class this year. Naruto was glad he didn't have to see Sasuke-teme since the mental scarring is still fresh, however, I guess Naruto would be the 'teme' in this world. Nothing screams 'asshole' like 'I killed your parents.' As for Sakura, Naruto felt icky about using his previous knowledge to get Sakura to like him '_I'll probably just give up on her all together_' He thpught plopping his head into the 'Shinobi Alliances for Knucklehead Ninjas (Vol. 1)' written by Jaraiya 'of the Pervy Sages'.

"Achoo!" A certain toad sage gave away his position at a hot-spring in western Hi no Kuni.

On her way out of the academy, Ino noticed a group of girls teasing a pink-haired girl about her large forehead that she was trying to cover with her bangs. '_Not on my watch'_ Ino thought. Stepping into the conversation "you two don't look the brightest either" Ino commented on the other girls' looks. "I mean, she may have a forehead fit for two people..." "Oi..!" Sakura said in the background, "but that's because she's smarter than both of you combined. Because no one in their right mind would walk out the house looking like you two." The two girls angrily left before Ino faced Sakura. Ino took the red ribbon that held up her blonde hair and pulled Sakura's hair back into a ponytail, lecturing her about being more proud of who she is "You may have a forehead with enough solar reflectance to solve climate change, but it's who you are and you should love yourself more". The Narutoesque manner of backhanded compliments didn't go unnoticed in this timeline as Sakura thought '_I kind of want to punch this blonde in the head'_. "I'm Ino Yamanaka" she finally introduced herself. "I-I'm Sakura Haruno" she replied with a slight bow. "Nice to meetcha!" Ino said enthusiastically "see you tomorrow forehead!" She yelled walking away making a tick mark form on Sakura's head.

Meanwhile, Inoichi has just gotten word from the Coroner. Most of the Uchiha were killed in an Anbu like style, or through Uchiha Clan techniques. The only ones that stuck out were the clan head and his wife. They were able to trace what chakra was used from the residue left on their skin. Senjutsu Chakra, or nature's own. '_We're dealing with a Sage level shinobi here..._' Inoichi worried '_And Itachi, as much as prodigy as he is, is no Sage_'.

After a few weeks, Naruto postponed Ino's training to put all his efforts in his own training and studying. In the morning, he can't be found and in the afternoons his head is either jammed in a book from the library or a bowl from Ichiraku's. Ino was getting impatient as she felt he was leaving her behind.

When the weekend came about, Ino was wandering through the village looking around for Naruto. At first, she thought she'd find him at Ichiraku's, but the usual seat was empty. "Excuse me... umm.." Ino tried to remember the brown-haired woman behind the counter. "A-ya-me" the woman said in a playful manner back. "Ayame-san... have you seen Naruto?" she asked. Ayame thought for a second. "Usually he comes in the afternoon, and it looks like he rolled around in dirt" she noted. "Okay, thank you!" Ino exclaimed while taking off. Ayame has a cunning grin on her face that she would have to mess with Naruto later.

She passed by the eastern side of the village trying to find a dirt filled place. Instead she found the purple haired Hyuuga looking out from behind a pole again. '_I believe her name was Hinata_' she thought approaching her. "Hey Hinata...!" She yelled, startling the Hyuuga Heir. "Y-y-Yamanaka-san..." she stuttered. "Have you seen Naruto anywhere?" Ino asked overlooking Hinata's uneasiness. "N-Naruto-kun...?" Ino, however, happened to notice the honorific. "-kun, huh? So you like Naruto, Hinata?" Hinata grew bright red from being found out, although it was no real secret. _'I guess I'll tease her for a bit'_ Ino snickered internally. "Oh really? It looks like I got some competition..." "W-what?!" Hinata asked startled. "I might have to step up my game, I'm not going to lose to—" Ino mocked before getting cut off "I-I won't lose either!" Hinata shouted back her face still looking like a cherry. '_She's got spunk. Hidden, but she's got it_.' Ino looked around for a moment "Alright, I'll hold you to that" she grinned "So do you know where he might be?"

Hinata calmed herself down, surprised that she didn't faint from embarrassment. She nodded and pointed out to the fenced off forest area "I saw him go in there". Now that Ino knew how Hinata felt, it was no surprise that she knew where he went. "So, you want to go find him?" The blonde asked. Hinata poked her fingers together "I don't know if we should" she said timidly. "Well you already came this far, c'mon!" Ino insisted grabbing Hinata by the hand and pulling her into the shadow of the trees.

They looked in awe at how tall the fence stood. "What is this place?" Ino asked out loud. "Yamanaka-san..." Hinata drew the attention of the blonde as the Hyuuga pointed at the Placard hanging on the fence. "Training Ground 44" they silently whispered to themselves as they saw someone wrote in marker below it '_The Forest of Death'_. Ino seemed to have lost her nerve as she put her head down and shade drew on her face. Hinata began to worry until Ino blurted out "You're telling me that guy is training without me?!" Stomping the ground next to her.

"Hinata!" she yelled to the purple-haired kunouchi-in-training who let out an "eek!" The Yamanaka Heir looked at the Hyuuga Heir grabbing her shoulders "How far can you see with your Byakugan?" Hinata shook her head slightly "I can only manage about 100 yards or so" "Those are rookie numbers, you gotta pump those numbers up![1]" the blonde retorted to the Hyuuga's response of "but I am a rookie." Ino paused before she grinned "It'll do" she said confidently before scaling the fence.

Hinata semi-reluctantly followed, since she has been intrigued by the enigma that is Naruto ever since he helped her home last winter when her Geta broke. When she hit the ground she activated her Byakugan and a bead of sweat dropped on her head. "Did you find him?" Ino asked. "N-no, I see a lot of other signatures though. They walked through the forest trying to avoid any other chakra signatures. They were an odd duo: Hinata was timid and doubtful while Ino was confident and outgoing.

Suddenly, Hinata stopped. "Ino... I think we should head back." Ino looked back at Hinata. Seeing how scared she was, she didn't want to put her through more torture. She shrugged "well at least we tried." As they turned to head back, they were face-to-face with a giant spider. Both screamed in horror, grabbing onto each other before quickly fleeing, dodging the sticky-white webs it was shooting in their direction.

One of the webs grabbed Ino's leg as she fell to the ground. Tears began running down her face as she figured this was the end already. Hinata had been gradually progressing in her family Taijutsu style, and even though it's not up to par with her peers it was now or never. She hit several tenketsu points of the spider's hind legs before it started to limp. Her victory was short lived, however, as the spider sprung a web that left her trapped against a tree

As both exhausted girls awaited their impending doom, Naruto jumped down from the trees while slamming a blue orb of chakra into the arachnid. "Rasengan!" The highly compressed, rotating chakra forced the eight-legged monster down with shear pressure and ate its way inside its abdomen, killing it. Ino and Hinata were amazed and glad that they were still alive. As he was helping them get the webs off, he noticed a snake making its way across a branch 20 feet away from them. He quickly made two shadow clones "get them out of here... we got company."

The clones nodded and quickly got the girls on their backs before taking off. The snake sleuthed its way to the front of Naruto, who then reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a scroll. He sat in front of the snake and laid the scroll out before unsealing a full plate of Dango. It's eyes opened wide in surprise and delight. "You know, it's kind of hard to talk to you when you're in that form" Naruto noted before the slithery creature burst into a cloud of smoke.

The smoke dissipated to show a twenty-year-old purple-haired Kunoichi. She wore a fishnet top and black Jounin pants. '_It looks like she hasn't gotten the trench coat and skirt yet'_ he noted. "You're pretty sharp, kid" she complimented sitting across from him. "Why Dango though?" She asked resisting the urge to lick her lips and trying to maintain the composure of someone who's in the Torture an Interrogation Department. "I see you all the time at the Dango stands around the village, so I figured it would be nice to greet the woman that Yamanaka-san sent to spy on me" Naruto responded nonchalantly. She narrowed her eyes at him in a glare before deadpanning "No kid, that's not the proper way to greet a lady at all." The blonde gave a sheepish laugh rubbing the back of his head "well, I would have done a tea ceremony or something, but I don't have a tea set."

The purple-haired kunouchi rubbed her chin, "well at least you're not a complete lost cause. I'm Anko Mitarashi, the sexiest shinobi in this village... and single." She then looked down at Naruto "Not that it'll matter to pip-squeak like you though". Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he was underestimated, but retorted a shrug with "who knows, you may have let a real Genji [2] slip through your hands". Anko made a mischievous grin and leaned forward to Naruto "you may be right. That jutsu you let earlier was not something anyone can do. You can be a real catch in the future" she said trying to tease him. As her face got closer, he separated them by picking up a stick of dango and then shoving it in her mouth "let me know how it tastes first. There are steps to these sorts of things..." A quizzical look plastered on her face wondering if he met what she thought he meant "...You can't just go asking about a shinobi's jutsu." She returned to her sitting position brushing off the indirect rejection she just got "you're lame."

Outside the Training Ground 44, Ino and Hinata were dropped off by the clones. "Can you please keep what you saw here a secret? The boss doesn't want too much attention drawn to him" one of the clones asked sheepishly when both the girls had calmed down their nerves. "A secret between me and Naruto-kun..." the timid Hyuuga thought, feeling at least a bit closer to him. On the other hand, a tick mark had formed on Ino's head. "A secret... the nerve..." she mumbled. Both the clones had a sense of dread, when clone two standing behind clone one patted the other on the shoulder and said with a smile "Godspeed" before poofing out of existence. Clone one, shocked that he was betrayed by his counterpart, then turned stiffly to the angered blonde before she exploded "you tell your boss...!" She exclaimed forcing her finger into his chest "...that he's going to teach me that jutsu for me to keep quiet, or swear to kami if he doesn't I will find a way to learn it myself and shove it so far up his ass that his head starts spinning!" The last word had been accompanied by a poke with so much force you could swear it was a Hyuuga doing it as the clone then burst into smoke.

Back in the forest, Anko was going on about daily life "... and then I told that Ibiki that he's so ugly that every blemish on his face just makes him look better!" "Yeah when you're that ugly, there's nowhere to go but up" both let out a laugh before a ping hit Naruto's head as the information from his clones came back to him and his face turned as if he wasn't anticipating the events in the near future. "Listen, Anko-nee..." Naruto began rubbing the back of his head "...I know you have to report back, but can you make me seem not so powerful that I have to have Anbu watch my every move?" Anko took to the familial connection for a moment before replying "nope..." "Whaaaa? But I don't want that kind of attention, please!" He pleaded clapping his handing in front of his chest. "Hmmm, you're still weak to me, so I can't call you powerful at all. You're probably a chuunin at best" she replied before a cunning grin grew on her face. How about you train with your pretty Anko-nee-chan for now on." "The prettiest ..." Naruto said with a nervous smile. "Now you're just being a kiss ass..." '_kinda_' he thought. She saw the uncomfortable nervousness that he was in given that he just saved to girls and has potential to be a fine shinobi. "Fine, you brat." Naruto's face then gleamed in excited exhaustion "thank you thank you thank you!—" "Training starts tomorrow morning" She retorted to his excitement dying soon afterword.

Footnotes:

[1] Wolf of Wall Street (2016) reference

[2] Referring to the Japanese classic novel "The Tale of Genji" (11th century, C.E.) in which Genji is raised by his step-mother from the age of three whom they later have a forbidden relationship


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. Life hit me pretty hard these past couple months, and it hard coming up with new ideas when you're just trying to make ends meet both personally and professionally. Nevertheless, this chapter is shorter mainly because I have no idea the way eight-year olds think. The next chapter will involve a time-skip, so it should be easier.

Chapter 4

In the briefing room at the T.I. Headquarters, Anko reported back to Inoichi for debrief. However, the dango girl is known for having a nonchalant attitude to these sorts of things, relaying the information as if it was just a passing moment. "Kids got guts, I like him" she told Inoichi. Inoichi has a shadow over his face concerning the significance of this mission. "Lighten up, Yama-chan. You shouldn't be spying on your daughter anyways." The older blonde laid his head over his palm. "Thank Kami Naruto was there. Maybe I should just trust him with Ino" he said "but are you sure you didn't witness the jutsu he used?"

Anko shrugged "All I could tell was that it was blue and required a lot of chakra." Inoichi humored the idea of the Seal loosening on the young Jinchurikki, but brushed it off on the Uzumaki clan's massive chakra pools. '_Lots of chakra, huh_' he rolled that marble in his mind, remembering how when he and the Hokage spoke to Naruto a couple of years ago that he mentioned that the Kyuubi suggested becoming a sage. The marble almost hit the stack of Uchiha bodies before he disregarded the notion. '_No, I'm expecting too much out of an eight-year-old._'

Meanwhile, said eight-year-old was prepping to teach that man's daughter an A-Rank jutsu. A few days had passed since the near-death experience, and Naruto knew Ino wouldn't shut up otherwise. After the academy, they met at training ground 7 since it was practically never in use due to Kakashi failing everyone and will continue until they're twelve. They both sat on one of the steps near the training posts and Naruto handed her a water balloon. Ino deadpanned "you never took the request to train me seriously, did you?" "Ma, I think it's still a bit too early for you to learn this, but you want to know this exact jutsu, so this is part of the training."

Ino looked down at the purple balloon and slushed the water back and forth in her palms. "Ino-chan, this is phase one of training. But—" Naruto stopped short and inspected the blonde beside him. '_Ino is pretty smart, maybe I'm approaching this teaching method wrong'_ Ino blushed slightly, not sure what has gotten into Naruto "what are you staring at?" Naruto shook his head. "It was nothing, I was just thinking of how best to teach you this" the golden blonde shrugged. Naruto then turned his body towards Platinum blonde and sat cross legged and suggested she do the same. "Ino-chan, I want you to look at the jutsu closely" he instructed forming the blue orb in his hand. Ino stared in amazement, but snapped out of it to deconstruct what she was witnessing.

After about thirty seconds of scrutinization, the orb dispersed. Ino looked up at Naruto who had an expecting grin on his face "so, tell me what you saw."

Ino grinned back "that's a rotating ball of condensed chakra. It's rotating in all directions, which means I need improved chakra control. Also, due to its density it requires a lot of chakra to give it power." Naruto let out a genuine smile, one that Ino hadn't seen before, colored by the light of the sunset and a brightness in his blue eyes "Perfect, Ino-chan." In this moment she didn't know what struck her, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment or happiness, she didn't know. She felt as if it was the first time he has spoken with her and not at her.

Despite the young Yamanaka being taken aback, the Uzumaki lifted one of the balloons in his hands and slowly began rotating the chakra until it popped "that's why, as tedious as it seems, that this is a necessary first step." She nodded silently in response holding the balloon in one palm and rotating. Still unfamiliar with chakra manipulation outside of tree climbing and water walking, it was unsuccessful; she tried for a half an hour after that before calling it a day. "Good work today" Naruto complimented to a bummed, usually over-achieving Ino. "Don't look so down, if it was meant to be easy it'll never be an A-rank jutsu." Ino had a small yet melancholic grin "how long did it take you to learn this?" Naruto paused knowing he can't say it took him a week or he'll be setting Ino up for failure. "Comparison is an act of violence against oneself [1]. Work at your own pace." She frowned slightly getting off the floor. "Besides we still need to improve your chakra reserves when we move onto the next step." "Mmm" she hummed nodding in deep reflection.

Naruto walked her home and went back to his apartment. He looked at the book on his table and took a deep sigh. He managed to sneak one of the fuuinjutsu books out of the library. '_It's just borrowing... I'm not a bad guy'_ he thought. '_And I can't visit the Uzumaki clan shrine without tipping someone off'_. He was tired and he knew the fatigue will get to him eventually, but for now he would cram his head into studying. He continued until late night with sketch ups of failed seals around him. Understanding beforehand what character affects what part of the seal will help when creating the complex ones.

At dawn, Naruto met Anko in the Forest of Death. "What's up, kid? You look like shit." The bags under his eyes didn't do his fatigue justice. "I'm starting to feel my own age" he joked. Anko laughed and slapped his back "don't worry, brat, when you grow up you'll be able to hide that pain on the inside." Naruto then peered into his mindscape '_Hey, Kurama, can your chakra get rid of this weighted feeling?_' The red fox scoffed '**my chakra isn't a soldier pill, kit. Besides, do you really want to show her your transformed form?**' Naruto bit his tongue. Keeping that a trump card until the chuunin exams will be more beneficial, as Kabuto will most likely get access to his public records. Anko poked his head a few times "you okay, kid?" Naruto wearily weaved his body back and forth "just throw me in coach, just throw me in."

And throw him in she did. Naruto's bruised and swollen face was his notable feature of the day at the Academy, but due to his intense composure the other kids didn't say anything. Hinata tried to ask him what happen gaining up the courage to approach him, when suddenly Ino appeared out of nowhere and asked "What the hell happened, Naruto?! You look like crap!" Hinata subtly made a pouting face at being overshadowed while Naruto stuttered at explaining "I-I fell..." to Ino's retort "on what? Someone's fist?" Naruto sighed '_make that a fist, a roundhouse kick and something close to a wholesale price of ass kicking.'_ Anko didn't go full shinobi as one never goes full shinobi unless in a war, but her valuable lesson was understood by him: a leader can't let his arrogance get the better of him, especially while half-heartedly covering his exhaustion. If you're on the ropes and have been rocked, getting into a slug-fest with the enemy is just stupidity.

Out of the corner of his eye, a pink-haired girl stood behind the platinum blonde. Naruto let out a half-hearted smile "Hi Sa—" he paused short as they haven't met this time around. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki" he said rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Oh, hello. I'm Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you" she said somewhat timidly. '_This isn't how we met last time_' he thought letting out an uncomfortable laugh. '_It's better than greeting me with a punch in the face_.'

Although the memories aren't as fresh as they were when he first came back, every familiar face he meets is encountered with the cruel reality that they might die. '_Now more than ever, I have to get stronger_' he thought. When the academy let out, he figured he'd have to ramp up his training, but that requires tools and tools require money. He pondered on the thought "maybe.."

"Naruto! Go take this order to the Naras!" Teuchi commanded as Naruto grabbed the neatly packaged box of ramen bowls. "You got it oji!" He paced in his white garb, making his way out. He had replaced his ninja headband with green and yellow bandana still made in its shape. "He's pretty quick-witted for a kid his age. It's only been two weeks and he's handling it well" the old man laughed as Ayame smiled in agreement saying "He'll grow up to be a great man if he keeps this up." Teuchi looked at his daughter surprised. "Don't tell me..." he paused stirring the noodles "... you're a cradle robber". Ayame threw a colander at him while blushing explaining how she barely turned 13 [2].

Naruto was hopping rooftop to rooftop, taking in the little bouts of peace between deliveries and soaking in the cool breeze. When he arrived at the Nara compound, no one answered the front door when he knocked. "Ma, Why order something if you're not going to be here?" He retorted. He made his way around to the back where he saw Shikamaru laying under a tree, Choji sitting next to him cross legged and eating a bag of chips, and Ino concentrating on the water balloon she had in her hand while sitting in a seiza position. "Hey guys, I got your lunch here!" Naruto grinned. While Ino jumped, startled to see Naruto who has gone MIA for a few days. "The money is on the table" Shikamaru waved off. "C'mon Shikamaru, you're just gonna let a random kid enter your house?" "Eh, Ino trusts you, so I will too" he responded. '_I think he just doesn't want to get up'_ Naruto deadpanned.

"Naruto...!" Ino exclaimed, not entirely sure how to complete the thought. "What's going on, Ino?" "Umm... I think I almost got it" she said referring to the balloon in her hand. She has always seemed a bit too proud to ask for help, so she can't express it correctly. She rotated her chakra in the balloon, with a few large rotations being noticeable from outside. Naruto grinned and nodded "condense your chakra a little more, this way it can flow at a higher rate of speed". The platinum blonde focused on her chakra when many short rotations can be seen from the outside before the water balloon burst. Chouji and Shikamaru looked over in surprise. "I did it!" She responded ecstatic at her accomplishment. "Nice job, Ino! I'll see you after work to start on the next step" Naruto praised to Ino who rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. Naruto then walked inside to get the money from the table, to walk out and see everyone eating. "Did you find it?" Shikamaru asked to Naruto yelling "Yeah, I can't fit anything else in my pockets!" before taking off.

After work, Naruto helped close up the shop before heading home to change. The sun had begun to set. Even though he said he'd meet Ino he didn't tell her where, so to save time he jumped on his apartment rooftop and sat down to meditate, directing his attention in various places she'd be. '_Not at the Nara's, not at home, not at Sakura's...'_ his attention was drawn to Training Ground 7 where she was introduced to the first phase. Naruto swiftly made his way over to the three posts so she wouldn't have to wait any longer.

When he arrived, Ino was focusing on a water balloon, trying to compress the chakra and spin it without popping the balloon. Naruto grinned at her tenacity "working as hard as ever, I see" he said sitting next to her. "Yeah, you can say I'm anxious to learn the next step" she smiled back. Naruto pulled a blue rubber ball out of his pocket and handed it to her. She gave him an inquisitive look before saying "you want me to pop it?" Naruto gave a slight nod and grin. Not as childishly enthusiastic as usually, but out of sincere eagerness to see her grow. That intelligence to see a step or two ahead now will help her in the future. She might not rival Shikamaru, but she sure can plan things out better than himself at the very least.

She tried pushing as much chakra into the rubber ball as she could, but it didn't budge. She tried twice more before she let out a whine "ugh, this is going to take forever." Naruto patted her shoulder "Ino-chan, you need more force—"

"Like this?" She asked smashing the rubber ball with her hands jokingly. "It's going to take awhile. First we have to build up your physical capabilities." Ino sighed, but still as passionate as ever asked to follow Naruto's schedule for now on. A sweat dropped on Naruto's forehead "that's a bit... heavy." However, she was adamant about getting stronger. Naruto stood up and she followed his lead. "It still might take a year or so, but we'll learn some other stuff in between" said the golden blonde "... are you prepared for that?" "Yeah!" The platinum blonde said clenching her fist with a grin.

Meanwhile, Inoichi reviewed his case filings before closing the binder and letting out a deep sigh. "Chief...?" one of his subordinates asked concerned. "Here, file this under our cold cases..." A high profile massacre and they're left with just Itachi as the primary suspect despite a witness saying there was someone else. "...I'll inform the Uchiha Heir about our findings and clear him from protective custody."

Footnotes:

[1] Iyanla Vanzant Quote

[2] I couldn't find Ayame's exact age, however, the Naruto: Shippuden's 34th ending sequence [ep: 418-431] shows a young Ayame hugging the leg of pregnant Kushina. So I'm going to say she's Naruto's age + 5 years


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

***Four Years Later***

At the Academy, a tall man with long white hair in a green robe and a scroll on his back was speaking with the Hokage. Red sage marks extended from around his eyes down his face with a headband that had the Kanji for 'Oil' engraved in it. "So he's already this far along, and he hasn't even graduated yet..." he said to himself in disbelief.

Sarutobi smiled at the man. "You shouldn't be too surprised, Jaraiya. Minato was also a prodigy for his age." A worrisome grin plastered on his face. Jaraiya still believed it too soon to inform Naruto of his heritage; his father's enemies can come back to haunt him. "If you are so distraught with his capabilities..." the Sandaime began "... leave the boy with something that will help him grow." The Sage pondered what to leave his future pupil with, since the Hokage had already informed him of Naruto learning 'something similar to' the Rasengan. He walked towards the open window and as he jumped said to himself with grin "I'll just have to see him for myself!"

"Naruuutooo!" Ino panted, gasping for air while grabbing on to the rock surface. "I can see my house from here Ino-chan!" He joked as they climbed up the side of the Hokage monument. Naruto was carrying a huge pack on his back that he laid out when they reached the top. "A little bit of training before a little bit of painting..." he said with a mischievous grin. "I don't get what painting has to do with our training today" Ino huffed holding herself up at the knees.

She has gotten a lot more resilient over the years, but she had been enhancing her stamina with chakra while this exercise was all physical strength. "You'll see... just be prepared" the Uzumaki said tying a rope to a nearby tree and swinging off the ledge with a paint bucket. "Rest while you can..!" He exclaimed on the way down. After about 45 minutes of painting on the faces of the Hokage, Naruto hopped back up the edge and pulled Ino off the ground by grabbing her forearm. "yahh" she yelped looking at the golden blonde for answers. "And now we run" He said seeing as the Anbu had caught on to their prank. They both took off running at break neck speeds, hopping over roof tops and through empty streets.

One Anbu managed to grip the boy on his shoulder before poofing out of existence. The other ninja tasked with capturing the delinquent blonde realized that they have been tricked. Naruto, as confident as he's become, still found himself tangled in a clothesline on the other side of the village. Ino waited for him to recollect himself. "Good job, Ino-chan, I'll meet you at the Academy. You can disperse now" he told her. She disappeared in a cloud of smoke, while the real Ino was still reading a book in one of the trees near the Hokage Monument. As the memories came back to her, she snickered at Naruto getting tangled in bedsheets that we're out to dry. She dropped from the tree '_I better get ready for graduation test today_.' She began to stumble as she started walking. '_Man, shadow clones are exhausting._'

Ino walked into the academy ready to ace this thing. As she headed down the hall she passed a usually timid Hinata. As their eyes met Ino commented "Don't fail now, Princess". "I won't lose to you" The Hyuuga said standing her ground. Ino and Hinata had escalated their rivalry, even though Ino was toying with her. Ino might be the Yamanaka Heiress, but the Hyuuga have more prestige for being a clan of doujutsu. If anything, Hinata was powerful in name only. Ino sincerely wanted her to fix that and back up her position. A bit of friendly rivalry wouldn't hurt, right?

Meanwhile, Naruto was running late. During the years, Naruto presented his skill as less than average to everyone. The only ones who caught onto it were Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Chouji; all who had seen his skill level before. Sakura didn't pay mind to the blonde as she just saw him as Ino's friend and was currently infatuated with Sasuke. Sasuke was still brooding, but was more responsive to questions. He was a tolerable amount of dickish. Iruka was still cheerful and kind to Naruto, which was great knowing he wouldn't lose someone he saw as a big brother.

Mizuki, the chuunin assistant teacher and Iruka's childhood friend, passed out the test. The written test was easy, but Naruto's sheet had a genjutsu on it. While Naruto has always had trouble with genjutsu due to his large chakra pool, this was noticeable by him. '_Hey, there's a genjutsu on your paper_' Ino told him using her telepathic abilities. The golden blonde smiled '_Thanks, Ino-chan. It'll be fine_' he replied. Going with the flow, he answered the genjutsu questions instead. During the Ninjutsu practice, Naruto aimed at making a single standard clone and overloading it with chakra. Hinata noticed this when she activated her Byakugan and wondered what he was doing. The clone came out hunched over on the floor like a drunk who had fallen over. Ino was pissed that he didn't get that right and Hinata was equally upset although not as visible. Shikamaru was jusat as surprised at the display '_what are you doing, Naruto?_' The taijutsu test didn't go any better, as Mizuki went hard on the kid by slamming him to the ground while everyone was distracted. Still, he did notice that Naruto had solid muscle underneath his jumpsuit. Ino was furious '_I'll have to have a discussion with Naruto later'_. Sasuke, on the other hand, stood out with his clan's taijutsu, but he was nowhere near Naruto's actual level.

After Naruto had failed, Mizuki approached him with a proposition for a make-up exam by stealing a kinjutsu scroll, although he didn't frame it in those words. The assistant instructor was cautious at first because he heard a rumor that he was trained by T.I.s Anko Mitsurashi, but after today's performance that is clearly not the case. Naruto agreed to meet him in the Forest later with the scroll, leaving the chuunin looking down, but with a sly grin on his face as he walked away.

Naruto recovered the scroll easy enough, and it wasn't long until the rest of the ninja were after him. At the meeting point, Iruka found Naruto with the scroll and asked why he had stole it. In his previous life, he had clearly been duped as a fall guy. "Iruka-sensei, Mizuki asked me to obtain this for him. I don't believe he is what he seems." Iruka looked shocked at the revelation and didn't want to believe it until Naruto pushed Iruka out of the from incoming kunai. Several kunai hit Naruto, pinning him to the cabin that was in the middle of the woods. Iruka saw Mizuki had thrown them before noticing his student bloodied. "Naruto!" Iruka yelled, hoping the boy was okay before seeing the child poof out of existence.

Mizuki, surprised, looked around for him before Naruto swung across a tree branch and kicking the blue-haired chuunin in the face. As Mizuki was heading toward the ground another shadow clone had spawned itself below punching him back, ultimately breaking clone Naruto's fist and Mizuki's nose. Still disoriented the chuunin lifted himself up '_what the... I didn't even sense him_'. "Who sent you?" Naruto asked. Mizuki didn't answer, but snarled at the attack from the Blonde. "I'm not going to answer to a demon-child like you" he retorted expecting the child to question him and buy sometime to get on his feet. "Fine..." Naruto said. With stunning alacrity, Naruto positioned himself behind Mizuki with a Rasengan formed. Shocked at his speed and with no time to react, Mizuki braced for impact before Naruto was stopped.

The green sage gripped the wrist of the young boy and held down the rogue chuunin. "Now, now..." he said calmly "... we still need to interrogate him after, so we want him alive." Jaraiya saw the blue orb that soon disappeared 'that is for sure a Rasengan.' "You're—" Naruto couldn't finish as two kunai came flying at him, which he caught one effortlessly with one hand and knocking the other one away. An infuriated Anko appeared before the sage and the kid "I heard your sorry ass failed the Genin test... THE GENIN TEST!"

Jaraiya loosened his grip on the boy and hauled Mizuki away "Uh oh, couple fight..." he joked getting a glare from both of them. "Anko-nee, I know you're angry..." he defended "...but I needed to catch this guy in the act." The purple-haired Jounin narrowed her eyes "you ruined your future to be bait?" Just as she took a step closer Iruka got in between them with a nervous smile "Um, excuse me Anko-san..." he said politely. "What..." was the only thing that shot out of her mouth with a piercing glare. He let out a nervous laugh before taking off his hai-te and handing it to Naruto. "That was amazing, thanks Naruto-kun, you graduate."

Naruto let out a huge grin, probably saving his life from Anko. However he was mistaken "you may have just graduated, but you can't always count on this bastard to be here for you" she lectured. 'Bastard?' Iruka thought. "Yeah I get it. But I only need to graduate once" he commented. That snide remark gave Anko a tick on her head as they now began fighting across the landscape. Naruto parried all her moves, creating shadow clones to help restrain her which she fought off.

They ended up distancing themselves from the rest of the shinobi as Iruka was now watching from afar. Two kunai clung together before she wrapped him up with snakes. That Naruto ended up being a clone as he held a kunai to her neck from behind while transformed in Anko's appearance so he wouldn't have trouble with his height. The Jounin let out a deep sigh putting her hands up "I give." Naruto patted her shoulder and leaned into whisper in her ear "check his neck" He said before transforming and heading back to Iruka. Anko stayed where she was with a serious look on her face before grabbing the back of her neck '_don't tell me..._'

Jaraiya came back to Iruka and Naruto when he was done handing Mizuki over. It was early morning now, despite it still being dark out "Kid, I need to talk to you" the Sannin said with his arms crossed. "Let's walk..." Naruto was overjoyed when he was walking back to his apartment. The feeling of graduating all over again reinforces how major of an achievement this was for him. However, Jaraiya had some major questions, most likely concerning the Rasengan. Naruto could go the easy way and say he knows his father through being in the seal, but that can have unexpected consequences.

They stopped on the bridge crossing over the river when Jaraiya asked "where did you learn that jutsu?" "Well..." the blonde rubbed the back of his head trying to think of something. "...I read a book called Chakra Control for Knucklehead Ninjas." The toad sage was surprised to hear the name of one of his books. "... It humored the idea of chakra being used to make shapes, so I concentrated as much chakra in my hands trying to keep it all in one place." Jaraiya got a big nose "oh you did, did you?" Complimenting himself with a laugh before he leaned into the kid "I don't believe you."

A sweat dropped on Naruto's head. "Fine, the Yodaime Hokage showed me through the seal" he confessed. "Part of his chakra was taken into the seal when he performed it." 'It seems he is telling the truth, it just feels like something in missing' Jaraiya pondered. Naruto cleverly left out the familial ties he knows about. "Well, did you know I trained the Yodaime?" He said with a grin. "So you're the man who makes the Icha Icha series... Ero-Sennin," Naruto deadpanned. "Show some respect, brat. I'm not a perve..." he held his head up "I'm a mega-perve" he exclaimed moving his hands as if he was gripping something.

They continued walking until they came to an open clearing. The Sannin took the scroll off of his back and sat down getting Naruto to follow suit. "I saw your little brawl with Anko..." he told the boy thinking '_forget Mizuki, he took on a Jounin'_. "I'll give you something to help you get stronger, faster." The toad sage rolled out the scroll which had two names written on it. "Jaraiya, and Minato Namikaze?" Naruto questioned trying not to know who he was. "Yup, the Yodaime also held the toad contract" Jaraiya said, proud of his pupil. "With this, you'll be able to summon toads!" He demonstrates having a young Gamakichi come out. "What's going on boss?" He asked. "This guy is going to be my new pupil" he said jabbing his thumb at Naruto.

While the Naruto from before would've been an ass and asked how such a small toad would help in the middle of battle, he now knew the importance of such bonds. "Cool!" "Nice to meet you kid, I'm Gamakichi" he introduced himself and Naruto did the same. He said getting the brush to write his name "and put your fingertips in blood at the bottom" he was instructed. The blonde did just that, biting the tip of his thumb. When he was finished Jaraiya stood up. "Alright kid, now try it yourself!" Naruto slammed his hand to the ground, pouring as much chakra as he can gather into it "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Appearing before him were both Shima and Fukasaku, the two great sage toads from Mount Myouboku. Jaraiya was seriously surprised, as the amount of chakra it would take would kill a normal human without senjutsu, let alone a kid. "Fukasaku, what is the meaning of this?" Jaraiya asked. "It's as the Old Geezer said" Shima commented referring to the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru. Fukasaku nodded in agreement. "This boy has a lot more potential than he lets on, Jaraiya." Naruto was sweating bullets "Now, I think your overestimating things." Fukasaku shook his head "you're oozing nature chakra." The blonde put his head down bummed that he was figured out. "... Jaraiya, we're bringing him to Mount Myouboku now!" They said dispersing.

Shortly after, they were summoned to the mountain where the air was fresh and rich with chakra. Jaraiya proceeded to pat down Naruto. "What are you doing Ero-Sennin" he shivered. '_I can't believe he's already this far_' the green sage thought. "His body's pretty solid" he informed the two elder toads. Fukasaku looked at Naruto "The Honorable Toad Sage prophesied that a boy of great talent has entered our realm and to not diminish his foresight." '_Realm? Foresight_?' Jaraiya listened. "Have you tried entering sage mode?" Shima asked. Naruto shook his head "I believe I would petrify without a contract."

The Toad Sages nodded. "You are quite well read" Shima complimented. "May you do so now?" Naruto sat down in a Lotus position and began meditating. Fukasaku was amazed at how still he was. As he focused on the nature chakra, the area around his eyes grew orange and when he opened them his pupil were horizontal and his irises yellow. "A perfect sage mode..." Jaraiya mumbled to himself. Naruto hadn't felt this powerful in a while and was genuinely excited. So much so that he gripped his fist and thrust it in the air subconsciously. "You are indeed a prodigal son, but do not let it get to your head. There is great responsibility with the power you wield." Naruto made proud smile and nodded in agreement.

Jaraiya ruffled the kid's hair. "C'mon, let's get you back" he commented. They dispersed from the mountain back to Konoha. The sun was beginning to rise and he could feel his eyelids getting heavy. Jaraiya patted Naruto on the shoulder "Wow, I'm really proud of you, kid" he said with a smile before shaking him violently "but how the hell could you get perfect sage mode? Do you know how hard I've worked!" He dropped the blonde "Jeez, can't believe I got beat by a twelve year old" he said pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just don't let it get to your head" he said walking away. Naruto felt as if his soul was living his body after that. '_I'll have to stop by in a few months to see how he's doing'_ Jaraiya thought before leaving on his next mission.

A week had passed since graduation and the teams were going to be set up. '_Ma, I got Kakashi-sensei last time, I wonder who I'll get now_' Naruto wondered. Ino, who was sitting by Naruto was still a bit annoyed that Naruto didn't let her in on taking down Mizuki. Tapping her fingers on the desk. Hinata walked in and was making her way up the stairs to the back, but first stopped to see Naruto "N-Naruto-kun, I'm glad to see that you graduated". Naruto let out a large sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head "Same here" he said. Before Hinata continued to her seat, she glared at Ino who reciprocated the notion.

Sakura was sitting near Sasuke, "I wonder how he was able to pass" she commented. The raven-haired Genin grunted "they're letting anybody pass these days". Sakura acknowledge what Sasuke said, but still wondered why; even more so why Ino was friends with him.

The Instructors came in; everybody but Kakashi-sensei that is. Kurenai took Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. '_The same as before'_ Naruto noted. Asuma took Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, Naruto began tapping his finger lightly '_this isn't looking good. I've been trying to stay away from Sasuke as much as possible, but it looks like I got stuck with Kakashi again_.' '_Then again' _he thought_ 'if I never talk to Sasuke and we still end up going to war, we wouldn't be able to get as far as we did.' _

Naruto broke his head over it for the next couple hours. "Hey dweeb..." Sasuke finally broke the silence between everyone "how'd you manage to graduate when you suck so bad". A tick mark formed on the blonde's head '_don't let it get to you, despite how much of an asshole he is._' He thought. "I was at the wrong place at the right time" Naruto stated struggling to keep composure. The Sasuke just grunted and continued to look out the window. Sakura seemed to be stuck in the middle finding it hard to find something to help relieve he tension.

Another twenty minutes had passed before the door slid open, when in walked the one-eyed, grey-haired ninja. "You're late!" Sakura exclaimed. The lazy nin rubbed the side of his head "Ma, I got lost on the road of life". "Since I'm here now, meet me on the roof in ten minutes" he said shinshuning away.

On the rooftop, the Jounin was reading his Icha Icha Paradise novel, when everyone arrived and sat in front of him. As he casually put his book away he observed the Genin. Looking at Sasuke he thought _'so this is the last heir of the Uchiha clan. He had high marks in the Academy_'. He peered over to the other side at Naruto _'... and this is the Jinchurikki for the Kyuubi. A wildcard'_ the elite shinobi thought. _'...He originally didn't pass the graduation test, but it's said he took down a chuunin by himself_.' He then looked at Sakura '_and then there's Sakura..._' he thought with a long pause. '...' "_What?_" Sakura asked why he was staring at her. _'... I heard she has decent chakra control_' he concluded.

Kakashi put on a cheerful, one-eyed grin under his mask and instructed them to give introductions. "Why don't you go first sensei?" Naruto asked. "Okay. My name is Kakashi. I like many things, I dislike other things. My hobbies I don't want to tell you, my goals are none of your business" He said happily. Everyone deadpanned for only being able to learn his name. "We'll start with you" he said looking at Naruto.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and hanging out with my friends. I dislike people who judge others for no reason or for things they have no control over. My hobbies are eating ramen and reading. My goal is to be the greatest Hokage that ever lived! '_That's quite ambitious'_ Kakashi thought. "Next up..." he said looking at Sakura. "Oh, um, my name is Sakura Haruno. I like hanging out with my friend Ino. I dislike people who look down on common families that aren't noble. My hobbies are talking with friends. And my goal is to..." she got silent as she dozed off while looking at Sasuke. '_A fan girl. At least it's manageable._' "Lastly" he stated looking at Sasuke. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like some things, I hate a lot of things. My hobbies are none of your business and my goal is to kill a certain man..." Naruto flinched as he said that "... and find my brother."

Naruto made note that the last thing he said was different from last time. '_It's possible he's trying to reconcile with Itachi'_ He thought. Kakashi stood up "Okay, that concludes today, tomorrow meet at Training Ground 7. I suggest you guys skip breakfast" he said before shinshuning away. "We literally been waiting hours for a five minute intro?!" Sakura yelled out. Sasuke just walked away and Sakura followed suit, chasing after him. '_Not much has changed in terms of team dynamics..._' the blonde thought.

The next morning, Naruto woke up and got ready. He decided it was time to put on his new uniform. He had black shinobi pants cut at the hem, an over shirt similar to a black Gi that has orange trim near the fold with fishnet mesh undershirt, and bandages could be seen extending from his form arms on his knuckles as well as on his ankles. The last touch was his dark purple headband that held his hai'te. He decided to eat breakfast because he knew he was going to be hungry in a few hours anyways due to his hyperactive metabolism.

Naruto arrived at Training Ground 7 about the same time as everyone else. Sasuke and Sakura both looked around somewhat surprised, but it was Sakura who asked "what the hell happened here?" The training area had holes blasted in the surrounding landscape, several trees knocked over and kunai scattered throughout the vicinity. While they waited at the wooden posts in the center of the field, Naruto created two clones to go collect the kunai as he sat in a Lotus position and began to meditate.

He peered over at his team, Sasuke being impatient and Sakura being anxious about what's going to happen. "You should settle in. If Kakashi-sensei was late yesterday, he is probably going to be today as well" he said before he continued to meditate. Sasuke just grunted in affirmation while Sakura began twiddling her thumbs. She wasn't sure how to acknowledge Naruto, being dead last at the Academy she felt didn't earn him respect, but he was Ino's friend.

After another several hours, Naruto stopped his meditation. "He's here" he simply said while getting up and stretching. Sasuke looked around '_what is this dweeb talking about?_' After about thirty seconds Kakashi appeared in front of them. He gave a slight pause of surprise when he was looking at his wrecked training field. "I brought you all food..." he said with a one-eyed grin. Sakura was starving, and the Raven-haired Genin didn't want to admit it either. The silver haired nin brought lunch boxes for everyone, "... but first, there will be a little test" he stated. "You must take these bells from me" he showed with a jingle. "Whoever doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the academy." Worried Sakura commented "There's only two bells though" hoping that the instructor messed up. "You have until noon" he said placing down a clock. '_Three hours..._' Sasuke thought. "I'll give you all a minute to hide" he gifted with a smile prior to pulling out his book. "Start!"

After a minute, he noticed that Sasuke has hid himself pretty well, Sakura could use a little work still good though. '_Meanwhile..._' he thought looking up at Naruto who cracked his neck and was rotating his shoulders. "Kakashi-sensei, I've been waiting to fight you!" The blonde smiled. '_This kid has no idea_...' the Jounin mumbled. "You're never going to get a bell like that" he lectured returning to his book.

Just as his eyes left Naruto he had a compulsive urge to block his left side to which Naruto had slammed a kick into his arm. '_Heavy!_' He thought getting thrown back while still managing to recuperate himself midair. Sakura and Sasuke were dumbfounded from afar with such an insane display of strength. Insane for both his physical capabilities and his idiotic approach for attacking from the front. Sakura knew for fact she wouldn't be able to keep up. She then heard someone coming from behind. "You're..."

Kakashi looked back at Naruto he could see his eyes. '_Sage Mode_?! _Did he already meet Jaraiya-dono?_' The blonde grinned "are you ready to take this seriously, Kakashi-sensei?" After a swift taijutsu battle in which Kakashi was not even able to land an attack, Naruto extended his arm to the body of his superior "Futon: Gale Palm!" Kakashi was thrown back to the direction of the training posts. '_Elemental jutsu?! Reports say he wasn't nearly this good_.' He seemed to be in a tough position, deciding whether or not to show use his Sharingan. He contemplated knowing Sasuke wouldn't take too lightly to it. Before he could decide he heard Sasuke yell "Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" In which he was barely able to dodge and just as he landed he heard a cutting sound. Looking down he saw Sakura with a kunai in which she used to cut the bells from his waist.

At that moment, Kakashi put his hands up and all fighting ceased. "How do we split the bells though" Sakura worried to Sasuke while Kakashi waited to see how the Genin reacted. Naruto patted both of them on the back "you two can keep them..." he blatantly stated "...I still want to fight Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi looked upon the anomaly that is Naruto Uzumaki. '_Is this why Anko was so bent on training him?'_

During the team assignments meeting, Anko was pleading with the Hokage to be an instructor. "Anko, we can't have you taking in just one student, it has to be three man teams." Anko was visibly slamming her hands on the desk in front of the old man "But the kid's got talent. Throwing him in with greenhorns isn't going to be good for his growth" she bargained. "No favorites, Anko. Besides, aren't you busy with TI work? Aren't you supposed to be there right now?" She froze from being caught. The elder Sarutobi let out a puff of smoke while the younger held back a grin "don't worry about it, it'll just be coming out of your paycheck." The snake jutsu practitioner became bummed out and left with her head down.

Kakashi continued observing the trio. "Give it some time and we might be able to spar more fairly" he stated. "You all pass." Sakura jumped with joy and the Uchiha Heir grunted. "By the way, how were you able to coordinate?" The Jounin asked. When Sakura and Sasuke were hiding, Naruto had the wherewithal to visit the two with the clones he created, and helped them synchronize with his attack. Sasuke was a bit of a prick at first, but as soon as he saw what Naruto was capable of, he decide to trust the blonde's judgement.

Meanwhile, team ten was performing a similar bell test with Asuma Sarutobi, the third Hokage's son and Jounin instructor. Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were attacking Asuma-sensei, who has been evasive so far. Jumping over Chouji's human bullet and being out of reach from the Nara clan's shadow possession jutsu. A shadow clone of Ino then jumped down from a tree towards Asuma who thought he'd effortlessly toss her aside to find out she had gripped his wrist and was about to kick him in the face. As he leaned back and losing the sight of what was in front him, Shikamaru had repositioned himself to give his Shadow Possession jutsu more cover.

Once again he evaded with a substitution jutsu. Clone Ino was getting impatient. "Chouji, throw me" she said. "Uhh... are sure?" The gentle giant questioned. "Yeah..." clone Ino nodded. Chouji enlarged his arm and clone Ino jumped on before being flung at tremendous speed toward Asuma like a bullet "oh my god, Chouji, too fast!" She began crying mid-flight before dispersing out of fear. The knowledge came back to the original which sent a shiver down his spine and caused her to buckle at the knees.

Asuma came back laughing "Okay, time!" Ino sat on the ground, exhausted from the use of the Kage Bunshin. 'That's pretty rare for a Genin to know' the instructor noted. 'I could've sworn she would have tried to use her mind transfer jutsu, leaving her vulnerable. Normally vanguards are the ones that use a Bunshin' He then looked at Shikamaru who was most likely the strategist of this ordeal (outside of the last part) 'intelligent, just lacks experience... and drive'. Looking at Chouji, 'he has drive and courage, but his techniques are lacking'. "You all pass" he smiled with a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth. After all was said and done, the fatigue set in. They all laid back; in a sense, you can call it group cloud watching.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Quarantine Day 14, I finally have enough time to write again.**

Chapter 6

Inside the Hyuuga compound, a twelve-year-old girl with a purple bowl hair cut in a tan sweatshirt was training. She had been enamored with a certain blonde boy with whiskers in her village, but recently another platinum blonde was getting in her way. '_I can't lose to her'_ Hinata thought motioning her clan's Gentle Fist style taijutsu against a training post.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked behind her to see her cousin Neji. She asked in her usually timid way if he would like to join her. He then swiftly ignored her with a snarl "weak", knowing that he couldn't inflict his frustrations with the Main Branch inside of the compound. The younger Hyuuga couldn't completely understand why Neji was so resentful. She believed that it was because as a side branch member, seals are placed on their heads at an early age to protect the secrets of the Byakugan, but no one has shown her so much animosity as Neji.

She walked near the river reflecting on anything that she might have done to deserve his hatred. She had found a remote area to sit at and pulled her knees close to her. 'Am I just too weak?' She thought self-consciously. Pondering that maybe virtue should be more like a meritocracy, but even still she wouldn't have much to her name to earn her respect from him.

Jogging down the same bend along the river was the young Yamanaka ending her day with a bit of Naruto's training regimen: several laps around Konoha.

She then noticed the Hyuuga heir curled up near the river. "Hey, Ms. Princess..." she started, shocking Hinata who jumped out of her seating position. Observing her counterpart's reaction, she placed a hand on her hip. "What's wrong?" Hinata was at a loss it seemed, and self-pity wasn't going to do anything. She wants to be stronger, but from a young age she was sheltered and lacking in social skills. What's worst is that, unlike Naruto, she can't be her own best friend. She can't be confident in her abilities when, at every turn as the Hyuuga heiress, she was prevented from getting her hands too dirty. She needs to break that mentality, and she knows it. Still visibly trembling from her confusion, she looked at Ino "Fight me!" She demanded.

Ino had just warmed up, so she was welcoming to the idea, however, anyone who understands emotions and logic can see that something was bothering the Hyuuga. "Fine, I'm game" she said taking a fighting stance. '_Hyuuga's excel in Taijutsu, it's obvious I would want to stay far from a hand-to-hand battle..._' she strategized. _'...but something is definitely bothering Hinata, and if her self-confidence is down maybe exposing her to the area she exceeds in will make her feel more secure'_.

Hinata got into her gentle fist stance and activated her Byakugan. Ino threw a few shuriken which Hinata gracefully dodged before Ino attempted to get in close. Aiming for a right-hook to the stomach, all the Hyuuga has to do was lift her left arm through the hook to block it while stepping forward with her own snap of the wrist to Ino's cheek. '_It's soft in comparison to all the times I had fallen when tree climbing, but her technique is spot on'_. Ino knew too many of those can be bad for her endurance.

She desperately backed away when the purple-haired princess followed suit with a combination of strikes that would have left the Yamanaka hurting. '_Perhaps getting in close was a bad idea' _she thought forming a few seals before saying Suiton: Water Bullet, in which she spit out several condensed water bursts at high speed. Hinata managed to dodge two, but the third one hit her shoulder resulting in a sharp pain that brought her down to the ground.

Ino got immediate guilt after that "oh no, Hinata are you alright?" She worried that the pressure may have been too high and punctured the skin. After closer inspection, Hinata was left with only a bruise. She looked at the platinum blonde and how she had dirt on her cheek from the strike that landed before beginning to laugh. "Thank you, Ino-san" she said feeling a bit relieved. Ino rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin "I expected the Hyuuga Taijutsu would have something to help with Ninjutsu attacks". At that moment, something clicked in the purple-haired princesses head '_I'll have to ask father about that_'. She then bid the Yamanaka farewell before heading back home.

Ino waved goodbye and continued her run. She doubts that she would've been able to evade Hinata's attacks without Naruto's training. Unfortunately, she can't train with the him anymore since their team assignment. _'I should probably learn how to control elemental jutsu better_' she thought. _'I just need to find someone with Suiton Jutsu in their repertoire. I'll ask Asuma-Sensei if he knows anybody.._'

The next morning, Team 10 gathered around the Hokage to accept the next D-Rank mission. "What a drag..." Shikamaru thought out loud "Glorified chores if I ever saw them." "These are necessary first steps Shika" Ino told the pineapple head. We have to prove our team is compatible""That's right..." Asuma said "It's not like you'll ever see a Genin start with an A-Rank mission"

"Achoo!" You could hear Naruto sneeze when he came in with Team 7 covered in scratches and fur everywhere. The feudal lord's wife took Tora the cat into her arms and squeezed as Tora let out a meow of help, to Naruto flipping the cat the bird as they left. "Jiji! Give us something worth our time!" Sasuke nodded in agreement "Yeah, what the dweeb said." Sakura agreed with the boys but didn't say anything.

Ino folded her arms "you can't just demand it and it be given to you, Naruto..." she said while walking up to him. "Mhmm..." The Hokage concurred and Asuma smiled as his protégée lectured the other team. "You have to plead with them as if you're life depended on it" she finished while the two Sarutobis face faulted. "Please give my team something better too! This sooo Boring! I'm losing my sanity!" She pleaded to The Professor.

Sakura side eyed Ino '_so melodramatic.._' "that 'woe is me' attitude isn't going to work on the battlefield Ino". Ignoring Sakura, Naruto just followed Ino's advice and pleaded with tears running down his face and snot through his nose to the Esteemed Hokage. "*sniff* oji-San..." "Knock it off!" Sakura yelled hitting Naruto with a paper fan.

Sakura doesn't hit Naruto as much as she did in the previous life, although she can be assertive when need be. Naruto pondered on the differences before, juxtaposing their reactions. What he doesn't know though is Inner Sakura from the previous timeline, and how she was created to balance her insecurities when Ino was her rival. Luckily, that's not the case now, and Naruto just chalks it up as him not being a complete dobe like last time.

"Ma... Hokage-sama, I apologize for my students" Kakashi said stoically. "Same here" Asuma agreed patting Ino's shoulder. The Hokage accepted the apologies with a puff of his tobacco. "Team 10, the local park needs to be cleaned and it's grass cut..." the Hokage started and everyone groaned. "Get it done quickly and I'll consider giving you a higher-ranking mission." The group still left unenthusiastically and shut the doors behind them. "Team 7..." he began to the Genin gulping in anticipation "... you'll be doing a C-Rank mission." The team was excited to get started, but took the briefing seriously, being introduced to a drunken bridge builder by the name of Tazuna who needs to be escorted to the land of the waves.

After the briefing the team dispersed, but Naruto stuck around with Kakashi. "Sensei, something seems a bit off to me" The blonde told the white-haired Jounin. "Mm, how so, Naruto?" He replied. '_So I'm not the only one with suspicions it seems'_. "If I recall what I read about the Land of the Waves, the island we're taking him to doesn't have a bridge..." the Genin tried his hardest to explain this away without hinting at his foresight. "Uh... yeah, that's why we're taking him there" Kakashi dead-panned at the obvious statement.

Naruto let out a nervously sheepish laugh "Well, there are already villages on the island, so I was just thinking how they have survived until now and who they traded with" he fumbled. Kakashi managed to complete his thought though "the current merchants might not be too happy that a bridge is being built, adding more competition. You suspect that they'll hire someone to get in our way?" Naruto nodded "Exactly, I don't think they're going to just twiddle their thumbs as we make their lives harder."

This perspective gave Kakashi pause as the kid could be right, but we can't add onto the price of the escort from just suspicion. "Ma, that's pretty astute of you Naruto, I'll keep it in mind" he gestured as he made his leave. '_As laid back as always' _Naruto thought unhopefully.

At dawn, everyone met at the eastern gate. Tazuna was now sober, which would make this trip more bearable. Sasuke was a mixture of annoyed for having to wake up so early and excited for the mission. Sakura was determined to improve her worth in the first C mission. For Team 7, it seemed like a race to the top. Naruto was taken aback from the mood, it wasn't this collaborative before, particularly with Sakura. Getting off the Uchiha Bandwagon really helped her focus. Naruto pondered on whether leaving a shadow clone here would be beneficial to call for back up but decided to trust Kakashi's leadership once more.

Halfway towards the Mizu no Kuni, the group came across puddle off the side of the road. Prior to passing it, Naruto made hand sign and channeled his chakra to the tree branches where two shadow clones appeared. Kakashi noticed while the rest of the group unwittingly continued. 'It seems Naruto is aware of the situation; I wonder what he's going to do...'

As they passed the unusual puddle, it transformed into two Chuunin Rank shinobi, the demon brothers. Before they could attack, a Naruto clone kicked one in the back throwing off their coordination. "Sasuke!" The blonde yelled. The Raven haired Genin was happy to oblige as a few shuriken was enough to throw the other brother off from correcting their mishap.

Even though Sakura guarded Tazuna, she managed to throw several chakra-laced kunai. It was weak, but still enough to penetrate the skin, sending a shock into the able Demon Brothers' legs. The real Naruto threw himself with his clone incorporating the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage on the wounded brother, looking back to see Kakashi had already subdued the other he had kicked earlier. 'Not bad teamwork' the one-eyed Jounin thought.

After the scuffle, Kakashi sent word via messenger bird to come and pick up the Demon-Brothers. It now became apparent that Tazuna was hiding something. "Those were full-fledged ninja, not your run of the mill bandit that we were tasked with protecting you from..." Kakashi interrogated. The bridge builder buckled under the pressure and told Team 7 about the situation with Gato being the sole supplier for Their island. '_Naruto was right... but what's even more suspicious was how the kid was so on the nose with this_.'

A few ANBU came to pick up the captives and left shortly thereafter, before heading to the land of the waves. They docked the boat after a long row through the mist to avoid detection of the men hired by the Gato Company. While continuing their escort to the village through the forest, Sasuke threw a kunai into some bushes after feeling the presence of someone watching them. "It's just a rabbit" Sakura laughed.

Naruto knew this is the part where he must approach with caution. Kakashi was subtle about his wariness, which was validated when Naruto spoke to him "Kakashi..." "mmm" the copy-nin mumbled in agreement keeping his eye peeled. "Everyone get down!" Kakashi yelled as the Executioner's Blade came hurling through the air before lodging itself in a tree, in which a shinobi from the mist with a face mask stood atop its handle.

"Oh, look what we have here. A rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist..." Sakura and Sasuke were covered surprise, but Naruto was hoping he could get Zabuza and Haku out alive this time. "Rogue ninja... ah, Kakashi-sensei!" '_What do you want Naruto, this is serious shit'_ the white-haired Jounin thought. With a sigh, he responded" what Naruto?" "... would a ninja still be considered rogue if the Kage changed? Because I'm pretty sure there's a new Mizukage..."

Zabuza was going to toy with them a bit, but that blonde kid struck a nerve "you, the brat with the stupid face..." Naruto made an offended look "It's Naruto! N- A-R" "...yeah, whatever, Burrito. what did you just say?" '_Even though I've been just faking it, this bastard is straight up mocking me!_' Naruto thought, crossing his arms in retaliation "There's a new Mizukage, her name is Mei."

The mist-nin has to rethink his plan. The only reason he's working as a mercenary is to make money to overthrow that tyrannical bastard, but he wasn't sure if what this kid was saying is true. "I guess after I kill you, I'll have to see for myself." Naruto face-palmed.

From the forest, what looked like a hunter-nin threw themselves from tree to the ground in the center between Tazuna and the rest of Team 7, but they looked more focused on running away from something. _'The mark's right here, I could...'_ the hunter thought as the vision parried slightly towards the bridge-builder. "Rasengan!" A clone Naruto yelled as a flew over them, slamming it into the ground in a way that made it look like the Hunter dodged just at the skin of their teeth, while the earth around them shattered into pieces.

'_This kid doesn't look like much, but a shadow clone having Haku on defense means that he couldn't hit this brat once_.' The moment Kakashi looked away to analyze the situation, a water cloned Zabuza trapped Naruto into a Water Prison "wrong move Kakashi of the Sharingan". Sasuke paused for a moment, wondering if he heard that correctly when his senses pulled up his headband exposing his crimson red eye with three tomoe. '_Why does he have it? My whole clan should be dead._' The boy wondered.

Kakashi yelled out to the blonde but noticed Naruto then smirked. Naruto got a sudden surge of chakra the burst between red and blue, making the water prison explode, and the Zabuza's clone along with it. "Now Zabuza..." the blonde said as his Body was coated with the red chakra that had three tails "There's no reason we can't be civil." Everyone was petrified at what they were seeing. Zabuza had a shocked look, with a hint of terror that brought flashbacks of Yagura. '_He's just like that bastard!'_

The Leaf Jounin was in shock, worried that the seal completely deactivated. "Kakashi, that hunter-nin has a Kekkei Genkai that creates ice mirrors to surround you, be vigilant" Naruto mentioned. Before vanishing and reappearing on the hilt of the Executioner's Blade near Zabuza. The swordsman reacted as fast as Jounin could, be he knew that that 0.25 seconds was a sizable gap compared to Jinchurikki. '_That kids toying with me'_ he thought putting up his guard as he landed on the floor.

Naruto's chakra cloak disappeared. He didn't want to fight, but he looked over to Team 7 fighting Haku with Kakashi preventing the hunter from using any large attacks. Still Kakashi would end it soon, that's just the flow of battle. Naruto kicked the blade out of the tree trunk toward Zabuza and back flipped to the floor. "You're either overly confident or just stupid" the demon of the mist grunted. Naruto was saddened from his past and disappointed that the situation can't be controlled by cooperation. "It's a shame that a shinobi with your potential will have to die here. If only you would have left." Zabuza's eyes sharpened at this war-torn statement.

Naruto knew he had to finish this as quick as possible, but his height keeps him at a disadvantage with his fighting style. Making a hand sign, the blonde boy henged into his sixteen-year-old self. His eyelids grew orange, his eyes yellow, and his iris square. '_He looks kind of like the Yellow-Flash!_' Zabuza noticed. A high paced Taijutsu/ kenjutsu battle ensued, but it was as if the orange sage knew every move before the mist demon made it; Simply by feeling the chakra flow of nature.

Typically, every combo attempted by the rogue was met with a swift counter at the end. Kick to the stomach, punch to the face, kick to the body that made two of his ribs crack. Before he could buckle, Naruto pushed his palm onto Zabuza's abdomen and released a sharp gale palm ninjitsu sending the mist-nin into a cliff edge. Those ribs were definitely broken, making movement extremely limited. Even breathing was difficult without feeling an abundance of pain.

Naruto knew Zabuza had no plan to get up and made his way to the team. "Kit, you should've let me play a little longer" the Kyuubi said. "Kurama, just don't kill him okay, limit one" The fox sighed "fine... you and your fragile humans.." Without a moment's notice, while Haku was focused on Kakashi and backing away, he turned to see Naruto's right hand proceeding to smash into his mask and sending him flying. "You see that kit?! Just like old times, just like old times!" Kurama said with all his tails wagging. It wasn't enough to incapacitate him, but he was dazed enough that Kakashi was able to detain him.

Naruto's eyes faded back to the usual blue, as his team stood gawking at him. Sakura being the most surprised at how he looks handsome in comparison to his childish self. His lack of self-awareness, he realized he was still in a henge. Poofing back to normal, he looked at Sasuke and see that he took a few Needles to his legs and back. Kakashi was glad it ended, one-eye smiling to Naruto "he got those from protecting Sakura". Sasuke turned a bit red "I was protecting Tazuna, it's my job!" "But Sakura was already defending Tazuna, if anything you made your job redundant." "W-whatever." Sakura was flattered but felt that being protected from real world dangers would end up crippling her in the future.

Kakashi sent a messenger bird to the Konoha, asking for assistance on the prisoner escort. It took a few days for ANBU to arrive, not to mention it was a pretty unusual request to take a live captive in a foreign land, even if they were in the Bingo book. Kakashi felt that Naruto wanted them alive for some reason. _'That kid is going to have to get used to killing eventually._' He thought, even after seeing him fight.

After they were picked up, Kakashi approached Naruto who was on the roof top of Tsunami's house in the village. The Jounin could tell that the look in the kid's eyes as he gazed at the moon was not one of a hopeless idealist, but a saddened leader. 'Strange, considering that he's just a Genin.' "Naruto..." Kakashi finally said. The blonde already had his attention on him, so he just continued looking forward.

"... there will be times as a Shinobi when you feel like you can control everything, or wish that you could... just don't be disappointed when it fails to go your way. It's not solely your responsibility. There will be times when you must go with the flow. Let the current lead you there and your time to shine will come. You need to put more faith in your team, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes opened subtly. He remembered how Sasuke was in his previous life as someone with a chip on his shoulder. Constantly burdened, believing the only person capable of succeeding is himself. Kami, he hated the cool smugness. Although, Naruto still believed in the good in all people, he now understood his comrade a little more. '_Just go with the flow, huh'_ he thought as slightly reassured smile plastered on his moonlit face. "Mm" he hummed in agreement.


End file.
